What we have here is a near three hour documentary of the rise and fall of Zappa's record labels Bizarre & Straight Records, both which came into prominence in 1968 after Zappa got out of his personal contract with Verve Records.
The film takes you through the history of the artists that appeared on the roster of these two labels, including Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, the GTO's, Wild Man Fischer, The Persuasions, Lenny Bruce, Tim Buckley, Jeff Simmons, and more. Included are recent interviews with many of the artists & musicians who appeared on these releases, as well as Zappa historian Barry Miles. Legendary GTO member Pamela Des Barres is here as well, talking about her time with the band and around Zappa as producer. Much time is spent discussing the classic Beefheart album Trout Mask Replica, and there's even some old footage of the band spliced in for good measure. Thankfully you get a lot of that throughout this documentary, including some vintage footage of Zappa and The Mothers from the late 60's as well as some great clips of the early Alice Cooper band, which helps the movie flow. With members of the GTO's, the Magic Band, and Alice Cooper all here, this makes for really interesting viewing.
In the end, despite putting out what later was seen as some groundbreaking stuff, the labels couldn't support the lack of sales for such uncommercial music. Out of all the acts on Zappa's labels, only Alice Cooper really went on to international stardom (though after they signed elsewhere), which is a shame, but it makes for fascinating discussion in the present day. From Straight to Bizarre - Zappa, Beefheart, Alice Cooper, and LA's Lunatic Fringe takes you on a fascinating journey behind the scenes of a small record label in the late 60's/early 70's.